The McDonald's Channel: Fast Food + HDTV

The reprogramming of America just keeps getting scarier. First Oprah launched her own television channel (OWN), and now McDonald's is doing the same. Not on your home HDTV (yet), but in its own restaurants. The McDonalds Channel (McDTV, doubtless) will soon be in some 800 California restaurants. Overseen by ChannelPort Communications, the network has been tested since December of 2008 in McDonald's restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip and in California.

According to the website, the channel will be "an in-restaurant entertainment network based on 'purpose built' programming focused on what a McDonalds customer is most passionate about... Sports, Lifestyle, Entertainment and Music. Our HDTV, web and mobile 'triple threat' communication strategy surrounds the customer and assists advertisers in effectively communicating their brand message to a captive, highly engaged audience." We really liked the part about the "captive audience." Glad to know there's a marketing category for that one. So what will your local McD's be showing?

Here's the program guide, which includes content from Travel Channel, Playstation and American Girl (of course), as well as sports and movies. So the next time you take your kids to eat a Happy Meal, they can watch Fame and listen to McDonald's Music while they play with their toys and eat their fries. Awesome. Maybe soon we can simultaneously watch television and eat fast food every single waking moment.